1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to multimode wireless communication devices. More particularly, the invention relates to system provisioning of multimode wireless communication devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communication devices have become a common part of modern life. Examples of wireless communication devices that have experienced widespread adoption include pagers, wireless phones, cordless phones, wireless radios, and remote controls for a variety of consumer devices. However, wireless communication devices are often constrained to operate within a particular system. For example, numerous wireless phone system specifications exist and the corresponding phones, which are designed to operate within particular phone systems, are often unable to operate within alternative phone systems. These systems may be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), frequency modulation, or some other modulation techniques. As an example, a mobile phone configured to operate within a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system may be inoperable in a CDMA system.
Additionally, several standards may define operability within a particular modulation type. A CDMA system may be designed to support one or more CDMA standards such as (1) the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)/Electronic Industries Association (EIA) “TIA/EIA-95-B Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System” (the IS-95 standard), (2) the standard offered by a consortium named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP) and embodied in a set of documents including Document Nos. 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS 25.213, and 3G TS 25.214 (the W-CDMA standard), (3) the standard offered by a consortium named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2) and embodied in a set of documents including “C.S0002-A Physical Layer Standard for cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Systems,” the “C.S0005-A Upper Layer (Layer 3) Signaling Standard for cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Systems,” and the “C.S0024 cdma2000 High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification” (the cdma2000 standard), and (4) some other standards.
A GSM system may be designed to support one or more GSM standards, such as the standards offered by the “3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)” and embodied in the 3GPP specification where the term “3GPP specification” refers to all GSM specifications including those covering GSM Evolution (GSM EDGE), Global Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and GSM 3G. The 3GPP specification is provided in a set of documents provided by Technical Specification Groups (TSG) including specifications in series 01 through 13 for GSM only prior to Rel-4, series 21 through 35 for 3G/GSM R99 and later, and series 41 through 52 for GSM only for Rel-4 and later.
A wireless phone configured to operate in one of the above mentioned communication systems will typically have system provisioning information stored on the phone. System provisioning information normally includes the information required by the particular communication system before the phone is provided access to the system. The system provision information identifies a particular user and allows the communication system to track access, usage, and billing, for example. System provision information is used by the phone to allow communication with a specific network. The system provisioning information may be programmed into memory that is within the wireless phone. The memory may be a fixed memory device that is designed to be non-removable by the user. Alternatively, the wireless phone may support a removable memory card or device that contains the system provisioning information. A wireless phone configured to operate in a GSM system may support a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) in the form of a SIM chip or a SIM card. For example, the SIM may operate in accordance with specification GSM 11.11, 11.12, 11.18, or 3G TS 31.101. Similarly, a wireless phone configured to operate in a CDMA communication system may support a Removable User Identity Module (R-UIM). The R-UIM may operate in accordance with specification 3GPP2 C.S0023. The SIM or R-UIM may be programmed with the system provisioning information required to allow the wireless phone to access the communication system.
It is desirable to allow a single wireless phone to operate within any communication system. However, different telephone systems utilize different system provision information. Additionally, different phone systems may have coverage areas that are mutually exclusive or that are overlapping.
For example, a first CDMA wireless communication system may require the system provision information set forth in the CDMA2000 specification. A second CDMA wireless communication system may also operate in accordance with CDMA2000 such that a wireless phone may operate in either communication systems with the same system provision information. However, the first and second CDMA communication systems may have mutually exclusive coverage areas. A third communication system may be a GSM system that requires system provision information that is different from the system provision information required by the CDMA systems. Additionally, the coverage area may be exclusive of, or may overlap, the coverage areas of the CDMA systems.
In order to allow a wireless device to operate in some or all of the different wireless communication systems, it would be advantageous for the device to resolve the system provision information and register in various communication systems. A device should be configurable to allow it to operate in various types of communication systems such that the device has a high probability of operating in a supported coverage area. The device should be able to interface with a removable memory device that may hold the system provision information. The device should also have the capability of operating in multiple systems using SIM or R-UIM modules.